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SCIENCE
MECHANICS AND HANDICRAFT
There's room in one driveway for a standard car and this two-seater, too. With a 72-inch
about private flying. Inevitably the talk got that was almost as complicated and costly.
around to midget cars. The new car had to be planned from a
The partners decided to keep their feet on fresh start. One-wheel drive was found to be
the ground. In 1945 they bought out a de- effective if car weight was properly dis-
funct motor-scooter factory, named their tributed and springing right. The engine
new firm Midget Motors Supply, and es- went in back, on the drive-wheel side. Rope
tablished their plant in Athens, Ohio. and pedal starting were discarded in favor
By 1946 they had designed a single-pas- of a retractable cable. This runs over pul-
senger midget racing car and bought out leys, giving a two-to-one advantage, to a
two more scooter plants. A powerful scooter rack that meshes with a pinion on the
of their own design was a success and is engine—but only when you pull the cable.
still in production. But their dream was to Simplicity, patented. The King Midget
build a small two-passenger car. is starkly simple where it doesn't hurt, but
The difficulties loomed large. A differ- significant details aren't skimped. For in-
ential would boost costs formidably; would
one-wheel drive do? Could a really light car Four can tote it. The car weighs less than
be roadworthy? Could a mechanical starter 500 pounds, with most of this on the rear wheels.
One man can slide the front: end to get the
be devised, saving the price of a complete midget in or out of a tight space.
electric system? Nine test cars were bviilt—at
the price, they ruefully assert, of 12 Cadil-
lacs. One was hastily junked; others revealed
basic design headaches.
It's no scale model. They found the
answers in their knowledge of small-plane
construction, and in their own ingenuity. If
you just scaled down a big car, they rea-
soned, you'd wind up with a small one
NOVEMBER 1951 105
You can buy it knocked
down. Metal parts of the
body (right) are steel.
Fenders, bumpers, cloth
top and plastic wind-
shield are extra. Basic unit
is the welded frame, of
seamless steel tubing and
airplane-type channel,
shown below with wheels
and engine. Buyer needs
only common tools.
side of the car. Since you can't stall the en- in after the gas pedal is momentarily let up.
gine, one start lasts a whole trip. You can The two-speed transmission, listed as an
get a battery-powered starter as an extra. extra, gives better pickup and hill-climbing
The engine holds three pints of oil, cir- ability, for it affords two distinct drive ratios.
culated by a pump. You switch from grade The car PS tried out had this transmission.
30 in summer to 20 in winter. That's all the This patented drive gets results with a
winter conditioning you do. minimum of parts, complication and cost.
It shifts for itself. The car can be It consists of dual V-belt drives, with pulleys
bought with a single-ratio automatic drive. of different ratios, and two automatic
This is a centrifugal clutch of special design clutches. These operate somewhat like self-
that lets the engine outrun the drive for energizing brakes, engaging at a much high-
a quick getaway and pickup, and locks it er speed than they will disengage at. The
Leg r o o m is good, and you don t sit way down Starter cable has handle on driver's side of
—seat is 9-1/2 inches above floor. Although seat the body. Small button above louvers is the
cannot be moved forward or back, brake and choke. Cable retracts into body. Once the en-
gas-pedal mounting can be adjusted to suit. gine is running, you can't stall it.
NOVEMBER 1951 107
Oil is checked on a dipstick. Engine holds One-cylinder power plant slides on its mounts
three pints. Being air-cooled, it requires no for tensioning drive belt (not shown). Pulleys
antifreeze in winter, only lighter oil. Spare tire seen are for the single-ratio drive. Lighting
goes on outside of rear panel. generator runs only when lights are wanted.
low-speed clutch gets the car off to a smooth a positive lock when they are engaged. Both
start. Then, at about 14 miles an hour, the V belts are the heavy industrial type, with
high-speed clutch locks in, the low-speed steel cables inside.
drive free-wheels through an overrunning The jackshaft drives a gearbox by which
device, and you're rolling in high. the car can be reversed. From there a
On a hill, you stay in high until speed motorcycle chain drives the right rear wheel.
drops to about seven miles an hour. Then To back up the car, you flip over a short
there's a quick automatic shift to low, dur- lever under the front of the seat. That's the
ing which the engine picks up speed. You only time you touch anything resembling a
go right up. gearshift, and the only thing Aunt Matilda
The centrifugal elements that take up the could stub a thumb on. The lever has a
load are faced with molded lining and give neutral position, so the car can be towed
Chain from jackshaft drives rear wheel. Start- cable is pulled. Wheels run on tapered roller
er meshes rack with engine pinion only when bearings. Tires are 5.50 by 8, 18 inches outside.
108 POPULAR SCIENCE
Wheels are sprung independently. Each rear Four-wheel springing can take it, as I discov-
one is mounted on a triangular frame pivoted ered by repeatedly running up curb at drive-
at its wide end (upper right in photo). Front ways and then hopping off (above). The bump
wheels have enclosed springs, oil shocks. was easy, and there was no loss of control.
easily, without turning the engine over. shield—it costs less than safety glass, is light
How's the ride? Not sedan-soft, but and nonshatterable, but can be scratched.
by no means uncomfortable. All four wheels How about bad weather? Side curtains
are independently sprung—the rear ones on and heater are extras. The curtains are fitted
coil springs, not snubbed, and the front ones on a steel frame, hinged like a door. The
on oil-filled combination shocks and springs, canvas top stretches over a strong steel-tub-
heavily snubbed. You can bounce the back ing frame, well supported by the windshield
of the car, but not the front. Despite the posts and by braces at the rear. But you can't
absence of rear shock absorbers, the drive take the top down on the road, for there is
wheel will always stay flat-footed on the no way to stow the frame. "Next year, may-
ground. be we can make it fold," say the designers
Steering is through a gear and segment, hopefully.
with a much lower ratio than the one in your What about servicing? King Midget
Breezeway Eight. The Midget responds like dealers are scarce, but the little car has
a sports car on the turns; a twitch and you're fewer potential trouble spots than any other.
around the corner. But that snubbed front The drive chain, subject to grit and wet, may
end makes it foot around the curves nicely; need occasional adjustment or replacement.
there's no sway or wandering. With its low Drive-belt tension is a simple matter of
center of gravity, it would be hard to turn tightening a draw bolt on the engine. Brake
over. adjustments are easy and obvious.
The chassis is of welded-steel tube and Owners who know which end of a wrench
channel. Body parts are cold-rolled steel. fits the bolt will probably enjoy working on
Like a plane, the car has a plastic wind- [Continued on page 266]
Top speed won't get you a ticket on this high- From dead slop, car started up 37-percent
way. Officer Joe McBride of Athens police grade (tough even to walk on), though drive
clocked a new King Midget for PS at 42 m.p.h. wheel spun on smooth brick. On ordinary
The car will beat that when broken in. "steep" 17-percent hill, wheel didn't slip.
NOVEMBER 1951 109
500-Lb. Car for $500
[Continued from page 109]